Into The Forest Discontinued, will be remade
by cali is not dead
Summary: A small group of six rouges heads out on a journey as a tragedy befalls them. As they head out from their familiar hollow they are thrust into immediate dangers after two seasons of travelling. Along their path they meet many other rouges that add to their small group number, but at the same time, the number starts to fall. Who can survive this dangerous journey?
1. Chapter 1

" _I don't want to be here!"_ a voice mewed in the damp air, crying out into the rain, a growl following the mewl of terror. The sleek brown and black coat of a tabby paced around, obviously either in a panic or a frustrated manner.

"We wouldn't be in this situation if you weren't mewling for help when we grabbed you!" The cat snarled at the kit, looking outside for the quickest moment before ducking down, making sure the kit and herself were hidden completely.

They were absolutely soaked, so they took cover inside a small somewhat abandoned shack. Somewhat abandoned in which the owners would never be home during these seasons. They would usually come back in greenleaf, and leave during newleaf.

The kit tried to paw at the she-cat on top of him, but to no avail. No matter what he did he could not get the she-cat off of him. The she-cat groaned at the kits very bad efforts of pushing her off, "You are an amazing fighter. You know that?" She sarcastically purred, rolling off him, licking the kits cheek.

The kit shied away from the she-cat, groaning as she licked him. "You don't have to treat me like a tiny little kit straight from the nursery Apple…" he sighed, moving a tail lengths away from her mother.

Apple rolled her eyes, "Well excuse me for being a mother." She sarcastically said, lightly flicking her kits ear with her tail, making him back away even further. "C'mon Splash, we're going to be late for supper if we don't get back to the group in time." She told him, starting to walk.

Splash squeaked and ran up to his mother, "Don't leave me behind! I don't want to end up like Cher-" he started, before cutting himself off. He remembered why no one was supposed to talk about her, even with his mother's death glance at him.

They trekked across the forest floor, their pelts damp and heavy in the rain, yet they managed to keep a light spirit. Smiles on their faces, cracking jokes as they made their way home, soon seeing familiar pelts crowded around something in the distance.

"Why is everyone together like that? Did something happen?" Splash asked, tilting his head as Apple put her tail in front of him, her pelt bristling.

"Something's happened, stay close to me Splash, and don't ask any questions." Apple responded, nudging splash behind her and slowly walking up to the crowd of 5 cats, in the center, lay a sixth.

The sixth cat at the center was skinny, her ribs being able to be seen, and he was curled up, like she was in pain. However, when Apple pushed through the crowd and shook her, she was cold to the touch.

Apple sighed, and turned around to look at all the surrounding cats from left to right. Morning, a scrawny tortoise-shell she-cat with a coat of black, ginger, and brown.

Then there was Branch, despite his name he was not coloured like a tree at all, in fact, he was a light grey colour, he was only named Bark because he had an odd love for branches and trees.

Following Branch was Misty,a dappled grey and black she-cat who was small, yet able to put up a fight. Think of a small apple that has the resistance of a tree, not able to be bitten at all.

Then, there was Shell, a tom who, looked like he had never seen a cat die before. He was the innocent one of the small bunch of rogues, though he was on the edge of losing it. His brown pelt covered with dirt, though to be honest, it didn't make much of a difference.

Then the next and final alive cat in the group was Thistle, a tom who didn't look surprised at the corpse that lay before them. His ice-filled eyes glaring at the body and snorted. He was the leader of this ragtag group of rouges, and he was amazing at it.

It was a while before anyone spoke, a moment of silence for this lost soul, Sweet. From the looks of it, she had starved to death. Thistle walked forward, looking almost like he _expected_ this to happen, and he breathed in, and spoke. "What just happened was bound to happen, as we are slowly running out of prey in this small forest of ours." He stated, Apple shaking her head.

The hollow was quiet until Apple spoke up, Splash about to speak, but was quieted by Apple. "So are you saying you wanted this to happen? You wanted Sweet to die like this?" She growled, stalking to Thistle, her amber eyes blazing with understanding and rage, Thistle not flinching.

Rain started to pour harder into the hollow,the six, seven, including the body, becoming drenched in water, though none of them bothered to move out of respect or anger. Splash slowly walked up to Sweet, nudging her slightly. "Wh-why isn't she moving?" he mewed, continuing to nudge her, looking at the other cats. "She should've moved by now, you know how much she loves to play pranks on us!"

Thistle walked up to the small kit, placing a paw on Splash, "Splash, go inside. We'll talk about this in the morning." he told the small kit, who slowly trudged off to his den, looking back solemnly as he entered the den. Thistle finally looked back at the others, Shell looking at him.

"S-so, what do we do now?" Shell questioned, looking at Sweet then to Thistle, a fearful glance in his eyes. "We j-just can't stay here, from the looks of it, S-Sweet died of starvation." he fearfully said, looking outside the small hollow they called home.

Branch nodded at Shell's point, he agreed with most of the points Shell brought up, though most of those points were brought up by fear. He never did well with things like this, it worried him. Still, he spoke up to Thistle, "Shells right, Sweet did die of starvation. It makes sense too, we haven't been able to find prey, and if we did, she would never eat it." he said, Apple nodding slightly.

Thistle couldn't disagree, Sweet always wanted the others to eat first, especially Shell, who the others believed she had loved. "You two are correct, but we can't just leave here right away, we need to plan. This hollow can't sustain us forever, so we need to make a decision quickly." He proposed, the others looking wary.

Misty was the first to pipe up, "So how do we decide? This hollow is all we have ever known!" She cried out, Branch trying to lead her away from the crowd, looking at Thistle with a ' _please tell me you have a plan'_ face.

"I think we should go to the forest. It has much more prey there, and a lot more space for Splash to grow up in." Apple pointed out, Thistle looking at her, his eyes brightening up.

"Then its decided." He confirmed, his voice ringing out throughout the hollow. "We are heading to the forest, get yourselves prepared. It will be a long and tedious journey, and we need as much strength as possible. We leave in one moon, be sure you keep on training until then." he announced, before walking away to the den where Splash was laying in.

Apple followed Thistle, leaving only Misty and Shell in the hollow, they both looked at each other, the silence broken by Misty. "So what will we do now? There's a chance not all of us will make the trip…" she said, Shell looking more terrified at the comment.

"D-don't say th-that! We'll make it! Im s-sure of it!" he said, trying to break the illusion of his fear. He did a good job of it however, as Morning shrugged and walked off, Shell and Sweet's body left.

Shell sighed, what if they didn't make it out alive, if they left at all? He sighed, wondering what would happen if they did leave, what other dangers he and his friends would face if they left. _Thistle needs time to think… Maybe… Just maybe, he won't let us leave…_ He thought, though that was unlikely.

Thistle was with Apple and Splash, explaining to Splash what their next plan of action was. "So, we're leaving this hollow? Like, forever?" Splash asked, Thistle nodding. Whenever something big was happening, Splash would always be the first to know. Perks of being the only kit, or perks of being the leader's son. Probably the first, as Thistle never treated his son like royalty, and it was perfectly normal.

Branch was with Morning, who he was trying to get to sleep, or at least relax with some poppy seeds. He served as the healer of this group, always patching up wounds that the cats get whenever they go out, though it was highly tedious, he enjoyed his job. Morning was his companion of sorts, helping him whenever he needed it, and they grew close.

They acted like siblings, mates even, though Branch kept their relationship completely platonic, as he feared that it would distract him from his healer duties if he took Morning as a mate. Plus, it would just be a whole bunch of work piled on top of him if he decided to have kits.

Shell, though he was the innocent one of the group, he served as a deputy of sorts. He organized the patrols and made sure that everyone was following their code, because even rogues have their own recited the code in his head almost all the time, out of fear of him forgetting and failing his duties. Him being scared was normal, though with his duties, he kept it lowered to the bottom.

Misty served as a maid, well, maid as in she served everyone in the group. She brought fresh-kill to the group, bringing herbs and moss. She was well respected with the group, so much to have Thistle praise her from time to time.

Apple was the third authority in the group, yet still had more power than Shell, though Shell didn't mind, he was only the second in command because of how close friends him and Thistle were, but Apple usually took charge when Thistle was gone.

Morning was… well, something. She wasn't good at hunting, as she scared away all the prey, and she wasn't good at fighting either, as she would almost always come back to camp with large scratches everywhere, and nothing under her claws. She wasn't good with Branch, as she would always get in the way, but she always played with Splash, so she got to stay.

Then there was Misty, who served as the organizer of the group, putting everything into neat little piles. She was also the oldest in the group, but she didn't let that stop her from doing her share of work. In all honesty, she would continue her work until she couldn't breathe anymore, that's how focused she was with her work.

Everyone was important, and if they did in fact make the trip to the forest, who could tell what would happen. None of them of course, but someone would surely die, or get left behind, the dangers that lurk in the forest would make sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

That was two seasons ago, when they decided to leave their comfortable, yet deadly hollow for the more dangerous forest. Shell, however, decided to stay back, not yet ready for the trip. After a half-season, he ran towards them,, not wanting to stay alone. It was hard, them being a whole half season away, but eventually, he caught up. The group gladly accepted him back. Shell still had some doubts about leaving, but he was safer with his group.

After one and a half seasons later, they stumbled upon a small cavern of sorts, the light from the slowly rising sun slowly revealing the insides of the cave, nothing inside. In fact, it looked like it was only used for moss, with it growing almost everywhere on the walls. Shell glanced around, looking for any dangers before his group entered it, seeing nothing. He signaled with his tail that the cost was clear, though he couldn't tell if anything was there.

"Its nice having you with us. It was quiet when you weren't here." Splash said to Shell, walking beside him as the group entered the cavern. "I missed having you hide from everything, even those bird feathers." Splash admitted, Shell chuckling just a little bit. He missed having his friend next to him, and he missed lying next to them, their pelts pressed against each other. To him, they were family, and nothing could take them apart.

Shell breathed in heavily before he spoke, "I know you did, and I missed you guys being right next to me when I get scared. I missed Thistle always yelling at me because I never did most of the work because of how afraid I was of the dangers outside. And I don't want to miss out on you guys finding a new home." Shell stated, looking at Thistle while he did so, Thistle looking back at him and smirking just a bit. "Plus, I'd be even more scared on my own." He jokingly said, starting to catch up with the others, Splash closely following him.

The dripping water echoed across the cavern as the seven cats traversed it, the only other sounds was the breathing of the seven, their claws sometimes scraping across the stone walls and floor. It was mystifying, the cave was splitting into three pathways, at the end of one, was a large light that flooded their vision. "What do you think is behind it?" Morning asked, looking towards the blinding light. "Do you think it's an exit, or just a large hole?" she questioned, starting to pad towards it. Branch put a paw in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. "What's the big deal?" Morning asked Branch, who rolled his eyes.

"We don't know what's behind the light, for all we know it could be a trap. You have to stay cautious, we don't want anyone dying after two whole seasons of nothing bad happening." Branch told Morning, dragging her back to the rest of the group, Shell and Splash finally catching up. "There you are Shell. Thought you decided to stay back again." Branch chuckled, earning him a flick on the ear.

Apple sighed, she dragged Splash towards im and looked at the blinding white light that was in front of them. "Maybe we should just ignore it for now, we can always come back to investigate it later." She pointed out, acting like this was the only answer to it. There was another answer to it, various other answers, but the second stuck out like a knife to Misty, who was more curious than a kittypet in the forest.

"What if the light is gone by the time we come back?" Misty asked, looking at the group, Thistle still thinking about what to say, Shell could tell he didn't want to speak at all. _Some leader he is, not trying to take any action for this group._ He said in his head, Apple getting ready to retort but Branch intervened. He stood up tall and puffed out his ches. _Like that's gonna scare anyone, even I wouldn't be afraid._ Shell teased in his mind.

"If it's gone, it's gone, too bad. Lets just keep moving and we could possibly live another day. Besides, it's just a little light, not important at all." Branch spoke, the walls echoing his voice throughout the cavern. With each echo, the voice became longer, distant, and quieter. It was almost as if the cave was taking the voice for its own, wanting to speak itself.

Morning sighed, obviously disappointed. Shell, however, didn't mind. He just wanted to get his flank out of this cave, scared that something bad would happen if they stayed any longer than they had to. _Look at me, being so brave. I haven't grown a bit these past two seasons…_ He mumbled to himself, Thistle giving the signal to the group that they would begin to move again, a sigh of relief escaping his mouth.

"Glad to be leaving?" Branch teased, flicking his tail at Shell, hoping Thistle didn't hear them.

"Yeah, this place just gives me the creeps. I can't wait to get out of here, I didn't get a good sense of the inside of this cave. I hope nothing dangerous inside…" Shell muttered, continuing to walk but starting to head to the front of the group.

The day seemed to slow down as the cats emerged from the cave, the sun somehow still high in the sky while it felt like hours passed. Shell still felt weird though, how could they have been in there for hours, but the sun looked like they were only in there for minutes? He shook his head clear of the thought, just in time for Thistle to start speaking to Apple about something, Shell really didn't notice that Thistle was lightly touching Apples belly with his tail.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine? We can stop and rest if you want…" Thistle softly whispered to Apple, who acted nervous. The whole group could hear his not so nervous nervous whispering, and it was getting obvious they were having kits. Even Shell knew, though he was much more worried about moving on than worrying if Apple was having kits. He tried to dull his fear, to his surprise, it slightly worked. None of the cats he travelled with for the past season and a half couldn't believe how… ' _brave'_ he was being, he hadn't whimpered at a leaf for a long time.

"What happened with Shell, I don't know who this cat is!" Branch joked, lightly flicking Shells ear, snapping him back into focus, though his faraway gaze still showed he was distant. Possibly thinking about their new home. Branch sighed, knowing he couldn't get Shells attention with that faraway gaze, and paced up to Morning, who kept looking behind them.

"You feeling ok Morning? You don't look so good, there's nothing behind us." Branch told her, Morning glancing at Branch and talking back, though for Shell, he couldn't hear a thing.

 _What if our new home isn't what we all thought it would be? What if there are already cats there, occupying it? Would we have to fight them to get our so called 'peaceful' home?_ He fearfully wondered, starting to breathe quicker with each fearful thought. _What if there are clan cats nearby? Even worse, what if it's their territory? I can't handle this!_ He wanted to scream, but he had to hold it in. He was slowly gaining the respect of Thistle, though he had most of it when he rejoined the group of rouges.

As the cats kept walking, the lowering of the sun and the moon slightly peeking out became apparent to them, the trees starting to be covered in shadow, the ground beneath them becoming almost completely black, but as the moon rose, milky white light came forth, tonight was the night of a full moon. The sight was a beautiful one, the moon rising up, the stars coming shortly after, the light enveloping everything like a blanket covering the world. Shell stopped to look at it, soaking in the beauty of it, Thistle walking up next to him. "I'm gonna guess you aren't here to scold me about something I ran away from, aren't you?" Shell sighed, turning to look at Thistle.

"How'd you know?" Thistle fake gasped, staring at Shell with wide eyes.

"It's happened so often, I can tell when you're about to scold me." Thistle replied, staring at the moon above them. The wind was whistling around them, helping soften the mood.

Thistle glanced at Shell, "You know I do like you coming back to us, even though you are still kind of a wimp." He whispered to Shell, who moved slightly away.

"Yeah, 'course you did." He remarked, looking away from him, a smirk on his face.

Thistle chuckled a bit before speaking again, "I did! Seriously!"

Shell smiled, "That reassures me, why did you come to talk to me though?" He inquired.

"Because, I need you help with something."


	3. Chapter 3

_Love:_ _an intense feeling of deep affection, a person or thing that loves, feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone)._

" _What would you ever need my help with?"_ Shell asked Thistle, who looked at him with an icy glare, sending shivers down his spine as he gazed into his eyes.

"I need you to go out and scout out the areas in front of us. We plan on staying here for a while, it's not a permanent shelter, but it's something we can stay safe in. If the areas around us are clear." Thistle explained, changing his gaze to the small dense forest ahead.

She'll followed his gaze, feeling his fear come back to him, "A-and you want me to go alone?" Shell gulped with a shaky voice, hoping it was a joke and he would send someone else to go along with him. Thistle shook his head, and Shell found himself nearly losing his balance as he realized he had to do this completely alone.

"You'll be fine Shell, you've seemed to grow a lot since we had last seen each other, and I completely trust that you can do this." Thistle soothed, calming Shell down just a little bit.

Shell reluctantly nodded, and gulped before he spoke again, "C-could I just t-talk to Branch b-before I go?" He tried to say bravely, making Thistle chuckle a bit. Shell tilting his head at his leaders laughter, it wasn't common to see him laugh.

"Of course you can, just be sure to be back here by sunhigh, you'll need time to thoroughly scout the forest, it _is_ kind of big." He told Shell before he ran off into the distance, running towards his friend. Shell needed someone to talk to before he left, and Branch was the best person to talk too.

Branch and Shell were very close to each other, Branch being Shells best friend, and they were almost inseparable. So when Shell told Branch he had to leave for the forest, he didn't act too well. "You're being sent off to the forest, ALONE?!" Branch loudly exclaimed, making Shell wince and make himself smaller.

"Not so loud Branch, I don't want the others to hear. I just want you to know so if I don't come back, you can slice Thistles ears off." Shell told Branch, a chuckle following his voice, before pressing his muzzle against Branches. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, just watch over the others please…" he whispered, before he left. Leaving Branch behind with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Branch shook his head as he slowly followed Shell, wanting to be with him when he needed to be.

Shell couldn't tell why he had done that, but he felt good doing it. A smile and a blush creeped along his face as he made his way back to Thistle, who was still waiting for him patiently at the ledge, eyeing Shell with a friendly, yet cold glance. "Done with Branch?" He asked, seeing a silhouette dance around behind Shell, sighing as he knew who it was.

Shell shrugged, "I guess, wish I could spend more time with him, and you know, not risk my pelt scouting alone." He replied, sensing something was behind him, and turned to look and saw Branch, mid stride behind him. "I'll be going alone, correct?" he inquired, after looking Branch in the eye.

"Uh, if you want too, Branch could come with." Thistle replied, shrugging as he moved out the way. "Like I said, you will scout out the forest ahead of us, see if it poses any danger to us, and if it does, warn us _immediately_." he explained once more. Shell feeling more comfortable with Branch going right beside him, being so close to him made Shell happy.

"Of course Branch could come with me, isn't that right Branch?" he teased, flicking his tail at Branch as he walked away into the forest, Branch sighing as he walked pass Thistle.

"Why must he do this…" he mumbled as he followed Shell, Thistles silhouette disappearing as the two cats made their way to the forest, never looking back.

The forest was a nice calm place, the sun making it crack through the trees and leaving a nice dappled shade on the soft grassy ground. The grass itself was slightly wet from dew not yet dried, it made it seem even calmer. Shell and Branch were enjoying their surroundings, not a single thing that would be dangerous for them in sight.

"Seems really peaceful here, doesn't it?" Shell asked Branch, looking at him with his sparkling emerald eyes, making Branch deviate his glance from Shells glance.

"Y-yeah, it is." Branch replied solemnly, starting to walk again, hoping to find something to distract himself from Shell. His mind muddled with many thoughts of Shell, to his confusion.

Shell sighed and followed Branch, just a tail-length behind him, taking his mind off Branch and on his surroundings. Leaf-fall had befallen them, and prey was starting to get scarcer and scarcer. The leaves was starting to turn shades of red and orange, a little yellow here and there. The sunlight would sometimes shine right through the leaves, making the light the same colour as the leaves.

A pile of bushes rustled nearby, Shell jumping out of the way and into a tree, while Branch swiveled his head to look at it. Hoping it was prey he launched towards the bush, seeing nothing there but a Few leaves and the wind, blowing the bush in a way that makes it seem like something is inside. "It was just the wind. Typical." Branch grumbled, picking up Shells fear scent, and a sew prey here and there.

Shell slowly slid down the tree, gazing at Branch as he flumped to the ground, "You sure? I think I saw something run off as you jumped into the bush." He asked wearily, padding up next to Branch.

"Im sure it was nothing, we can always find whoever you think you saw anyways." Branch replied nonchalantly, turning around and walking in the opposite direction. "Follow me, we can rest a bit before we go out again. We don't have a certain time frame to stay here don't we?"

Shell sighed and nodded tiredly, his body was wrecked with fatigue, and he wanted to rest. He wanted a place to calm down and get some shut eye. _Maybe I can figure out a way to get braver…_ He wondered in his head, starting to follow Branch as his vision slowly faded, hearing Branch's voice call out his name before utter silence greeted him.

 _Shell rammed into Branch at full speed, knocking them both over with a loud THUD! "Watch where you're going! You nearly broke a leg!" Branch squealed, crawling out from under Shell, who was starting to slowly get up._

 _"Sorry." Shell apologised, "I was in a hurry to get to my eating place, away from the rest of the group. Don't like eating with the others, too much noise." He explained, starting to walk away from Branch._

 _"Wait! What if I come with you today, just for today. I have no one to talk too today, and Sweet is still sleeping." Branch proposed, making Shell shrug a little._

 _"Ok then, that's fine I guess. You're the new cat, Branch, right?" Shell asked Branch, moving to his small little area near the boundaries of the hollow. The greenleaf sun blazing on them as the two cats ate._

 _"Yeah, this group seems pretty close to one another. You a recent member?" Branch replied, his mouth stuffed with squirrel._

 _"No, I was part of the group since the beginning. Have you been introduced to the others?" Shell stated, gazing at Apple, and her noticeably large belly. "I could introduce them to you if you want." He offered, putting his gaze back onto Branch._

 _"Would you really? Thanks alot! I haven't been here a while, and I was hoping someone would introduce me to the other cats here." Branch said appreciatively, sitting up to hear Shell speak._

 _"Im Shell, the de facto deputy of this place. Like I said, I was here in the very beginning. The leader is Thistle, tough one he is. I wouldn't want to get on his bad side." Shell started, Branch listening intently._

"Shell, c'mon wake up!" Branches voice suddenly yelled out, Shells eyes jolted open and seeing Branches face in front of his muzzle. Shell backed away and tried to stand up, but ended up collapsing on the ground.

"Ow… what happened… Why can't I get up?" Shell mewled, panting heavily as Branch placed a paw on his chest, placing his head back on the ground as Branch stood over him.

"You mouse-brain! You just fainted on the ground! You had me worried!" Branch scolded, his eyes showing a shine of affection and anger, slightly scaring Shell.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know why I fainted to be completely honest…" Shell stuttered, turning his head away from Branch, "I know I'm a mouse-brain…" he admitted, Branch's expression softening.

Branch moved to the side, allowing Shell to get up and stare at him, his glance faltering as Branch walked up in front of Shell, who shied away slowly until Branch placed his tail on Shells torso, making him shiver ever so slightly. "Branch? Wh-what are you?" Shell began, Branch placing his muzzle on Shells head.

"Something I should have told you long ago…" Branch mumbled, looking into Shells curious but wide eyes and breathed in. "I…" Branch started, Shell placing a paw on his mouth, wanting to finish his sentence.

"Love me?" Shell guessed, expecting Branch to say no and scold him for thinking that, but heard Branch gasp and stutter. _Classic._ He thought in his head, smiling as he padded up to Branch and nuzzled him fiercely, the bright moon shining above them.


	4. Chapter 4

_The branches of the forest rustled as two cats ran through the forest, the two rushing through the trees in a fast sprint, each going in front of the other as if in a race. The small one was a dappled pale tom, blazing through the obstacles and clearing them as if they were prey. The larger cat was yet another tom, almost looking the same, except his fur was thicker and a few shades of grey, the shades of grey getting lighter as it reached the belly of this tom, eventually becoming white. The muscles of the larger tom was quite noticeable, his jaw was powerful, though no cat who had ever come in contact with it had lived to tell the tale. The smaller tom was the brother of the larger cat, lean and agile, he was quick with his paws and even quicker with his mind. He was able to tell what attack a cat would be doing, and respond accordingly._

 _Of course, his intuition was not always effective, as time and time again he would always get mixed up as a cat prepared for one attack, and struck with another. He also was not able to look 360 degrees, so he was vulnerable to sneak attacks coming from behind him. The times where he didn't get mixed up with his intuition, he was somewhat deadly. Due to his agility, he was able to dish out rapid attacks with minimal to average damage, which stacked up to a dangerous combo. As he kept on attacking, his foes would keep getting hit over and over and over again until they could not take any more abuse and fell._

 _The larger one was a big muscular type, this one was the one who would deal the killing blows. His muscles rippled through his pelt, his claws were sharp and his teeth were sharper. He was the protector of sorts of the smaller cat, always there for him, and always giving him advice. No doubt though, that he led the smaller cat, This was apparent when he was starting to beat the smaller cat in the race by a lot. His strong muscles helped him burst ahead, leaving marks wherever he leaped or ran. He was a force to be reckoned with._

 _Their race in the forest led them to a faint scent of two cats, most likely toms who had stayed there. The smaller one picked up the scent first, signaling with his tail to the larger one that he sensed something. They only spoke when necessary, making them somewhat more scarier than they already were. The larger one noticed his companions tail signal, and started to try and track the scent. He walked down a small path of flowers and leaves, not naturally formed, as the scent became stronger and stronger., then stepped in water at the point when the scent became its strongest. He growled as he figured out that the two toms may have gone into the water to cut their trail off, meaning they were somewhat prepared if anyone were to track them._

Shell and Branch sprinted back to the camp, their tails entwined and pelts brushing against each other. They were soaking wet, as they jumped into a river to brush off whatever scent they had during their confession in the forest, as to not lure anything to the camp. They hoped that their absence didn't affect anything back at camp, since Shell was a decent lookout, decent as in he would warn the group about anything dangerous before crawling away and hiding, and Branch was the healer. The medicine cat, the one who healed everyone when they needed to be healed.

As the two arrived, they got the dreadful feeling of being followed, though there was no evidence to show that they were, in fact, being followed. No scents were in the air, and there was no movement or rustling of the bushes. All there was were the sounds of the wind and the ever so loudening commotion of the current shelter. A small cave, perfect to fit their small group of 7. Shell walked ahead of Branch, wanting to see what was happening inside the cave, only to step in something wet, and red. Scarlet red.

Shell lifted up his paw instinctively and used the light from the sun to see what he had stepped in, and nearly lost his footing at the sight of the blood. Splash came running out the cave sobbing as he dashed off somewhere behind the cave, and Thistle walked out, his eyes and face blank, no emotion showing through any of the two. Morning soon stumbled out the cave, panting heavily as she looked at Shell and Branch, who had come up behind Shell, and mumbled, "She's gone…"

Branch tipped his head in confusion, as Shell started to piece things together, someone had died, and whoever it was, was extremely close to the group. The two remaining choices were Apple and Misty, and Shell hoped it wasn't the former. Branch slowly walked toward Shell, looking into the shelter, stepping in the now forming pool of blood. His breath was shaky, "Do you think it's Apple?" He asked, uncertainty in his voice as he spoke.

Shell looked back at Branch, and sighed heavily, turning to Branch. "I hope it's just a really cruel joke. I don't want either of them to go... " He spoke softly, before a small silhouette became visible inside the cave. In its mouth, held a small kit. Shell couldn't stand up any longer, his world started to spin, his mind muddled with too many thoughts to handle. As Misty emerged from the cave, his fears were confirmed. Apple had kitted too early, and felt the punishment of death.

Shell collapsed on the spot, holding back a wail as Branch lay next to him, trying to comfort Shell as much as possible, but Shell was beyond calming down. If Branch never left, he could have saved Apple from her death. She could still be alive, caring for the newly born kit. But instead, Branch decided to come with Shell to the not dangerous scout of the forest. He couldn't tell who to be angry at, him for letting Branch come with him, or Branch himself, for coming with Shell and neglecting his duties as the healer.

 _Im such an idiot… I should have told Thistle not to let Branch come with me! I shouldn't've, no… that doesn't sound right... I should NOT have gone to Branch to tell him on what I was going to do! If I just left by my self, Apple would still be alive…_ he thought in his head, the grief filling him up quickly and very slowly draining. This was just too much for Shell, he wanted to go to his nest, lay down, sleep, and hope this was all a terrible, cliche dream.

But he couldn't do that, he wanted to see Apple for one last time before she was buried. He managed to think himself to get up, and slowly walk into the cave, leaving Branch behind. He came upon the body, with the blood not all over his paws, and on his pelt as he lay down next to Apple, her body dreadfully cold. He couldn't hold in his wails any longer, and let them loose.

A slew of emotional cries rang out from his mouth as he cried, long, loud, and completely true. Apple was like Shells mentor, always there for him, and always on his side if he were to screw up. As he slowly cried himself to sleep, he was granted one last look at Apple before he slept, surrounded by blood.

" _No no no! You're supposed to keep your body low, then thrust your right paw forward!" Thistle scolded at Shell, who winced as he was scolded at. "If you keep your body up like that, you'll get slashed before you can even say fresh-kill! Haven't you learnt anything?" Thistle continued, Apple approaching the two._

 _Shell stared at Apple, preparing himself for another scolding, but was surprised when Apple spoke on his side. "Thistle, calm down, he just started his training, and he's not a fighter like you are. He needs time to learn. Some cats are like snails, they take their time to get to a destination, but through hard work and dedication, they ultimately reach their goal." She spoke, Shells day slowly getting better._

" _I understand that, but he should at least have some sort of skill with this move! We've been practicing since sunrise!" Thistle exclaimed, glaring at Shell with his icy blue eyes that seemed to stare into his soul, making Shell wince. "I need him to live up to his expectations as the second in command! What sort of second in command can't defend himself from a squirrel!" He yowled, Shell starting to feel ashamed of himself._

" _Well at least he could say there's a squirrel before he gets mauled by it! Honestly Thistle, you should be congratulating him for what he can do! It won't be long before he finally learns how to fight!" Apple retorted right back at Thistle. Shell just wanted to shrink back into his den in the far side of the hollow and hide. Like he always did, that's what he was good at anyways. Running and being useless._

 _Thistle snorted and growled one last thing before he stalked off, "Why should I congratulate failure?" Shells heart plummeted as he watched Thistle take off, followed by Apple who was yowling at him for, 'being such a fox-heart.' Shell didn't want to hear anything else, he trudged back to his den in the hollow and lay down, surprised to feel a second body laying there, Branchs._

" _Oh! Sorry Shell, I couldn't find my den, so I decided just to sleep in yours. Sorry if I take up too much space, I could leave if you want?" Branch quickly stumbled, Shell sighing._

" _It's fine Branch, no harm done. I just want to relax right now, not in the greatest mood right now." Shell grumbled, laying down next to Branch, relaxing just a little bit._

 _Branch stared at Shell for a bit before he started talking again, "Did Thistle get mad at you during training again?" He inquired, Shell groaning as he turned away from Branch, hurting his feelings just a little bit. "It's fine, you don't have to talk…" Branch mumbled as a reply._

 _The larger cat and the smaller cat finally caught the scent of the two toms once again, and started to follow it again, then, they heard wails. The wails that they knew, were genuine. Not those fake wails that kits did because they didn't get attention. The wails that when heard, one knew that something terrible had happened._

 _The smaller one looked at the bigger one with round eyes, showing his surprise when the wails started. He could faintly see a couple of cats in the distance, near a small cave they used as a makeshift shelter whenever they had to. He counted 4 of them, a kit amongst them, though he looked fairly grown. About five, six, maybe even seven moons old. The older one glared at the small group, then looked at the smaller cat. "What should we do Mouse? Should we go up to them and calmly ask for our territory back?" The larger one asked, Mouse thinking up many plans in his head._

" _Maybe we could join their group Jaw? Who knows, maybe they know how to fend for themselves. Even the kit, and based on that wailing, there may be even more." Mouse finally stated, getting up and beginning to walk towards the group, Jaw getting up and following Mouse, though in his head, he wanted to shred each and every one of those cats to pieces._


	5. Notice

As this is NOT related to the main series of Warriors, there will be different ideals, clans, and lore will be different. As the story progresses, more lore and background will be exposed.

There WILL be gore, if you are squeamish, do not read, as deaths will be explained in the greatest detail.

Yes, there will be homosexual themes, if you are sensitive, please read a Dr. Seuss book.

Chapters will come when I want to release them, so don't rush me.


	6. Lore Chapter 1 The Reason Sweet Died

The nature of Sweets death was not glamorous at all, in fact, it was the worst possible way to go. The pain that one would feel if they were in a situation like Sweets would be unbearable. So unbearable in fact, that they would ask for something to take the pain away from good. Something that would kill them, so they didn't have to feel the pain. This however, was **not** what Sweet felt. Whatever she felt, was worse.

As most cats know, the more hungry you are, the more prone you are to infections and plauges and sickness. Sometimes, a cat was lucky, and regained their health before anything too terrible happened. In one of those cases, a warrior would be able to get back to full strength within a couple of weeks, maybe less or maybe more. It depends on their overall well-being. Sweet, was not one of those cats.

As Sweet was slowly dying from starvation, she had experienced very painful things that would make the toughest cats shiver and keep in terror. Her small body was wracked with sickness, first it was a regular cough. Soon it escalated to even worse things. Some include greencough, fever, nausea, headaches, and much more. As Sweet got worse, the sicknesses just escalated to things that made her faint from pain itself. Truely terrifying in its own right.

But the thing that makes it worse, the one that that makes Sweets case all the more terrifying, is that she was alive during all that. She felt each and every one of those sicknesses, and she lived through all of them. Now that may sound good, but it's the worst thing that can happen if pain is at a high. Usually, a cat under those circumstances would die at least after the first case of greencough.

Sweet held onto her life, sickening tough, maybe she was too tough in fact. Branch, the already established healer if Thistles group, had commented on her death, stating that it was, "Something that no cat should go through. Not even the cats who truely deserve this kind of fate should go through it." He was correct, as Sweet would describe her pain as, "Too much for one cat to handle alone," and, "Worse than 12 cuts to the belly that ripped the guts out."

The sight of her was not one to behold as well, a one beautiful, slender she-cat now a horrible, thin freak-of-sorts. Bone could be seen through her fur, and when accidentally touched, there would almost always be a harmful reaction from her. Her sickened state made her more prone to injury, and she would get hurt and infected from the smallest things. She accidentally eats someone else's prey? Sick. She gets a cut from a rose? It's infected. She gets a common cold? It becomes a very dangerous fever.

Eventually, it wasn't the hunger that killed her, it was the sickness. While many in Thistles group was led to believe that Sweet had indeed died of hunger, a quick examination from Branch, and a little autopsy, [Yes, there are autopsies in this au'ish story. More details of how they are preformed will be explained in these little chapters of lore,] revealed that Sweet died of a very common case of greencough. Cliche yes, but it does kill efficiently, and with Sweets condition, it was like snapping a cats neck.

 _ **AN: So there you have it, exactly how Sweet died. This is what I will call a lore chapter, what others consider a mini chapter. These mini chapters will contain peices of lore that fits into the story arc that Into The Forest is currently at. They will be in bursts of 2, and will contain about 500-1.5K words, maybe more. It depends on the exact lore, and how important it is to the story. Anyways, I will see you guys in the next chapter. Rei, out!**_


	7. Lore Chapter 2 Autopsies

There are many ways that one can examine someone who has passed after death. One way is to get an x-ray, but as the technology in the forest is quite minimal, that isn't an option. A second option, though it usually isn't likely, is to examine it without cutting into the body. This is what's called an 'external examination.' They are preformed when a cat dies of something that can be seen on the exterior, something that's noticeable, like a hash on the throat, or a bunch of infected areas.

But the one that many cats don't want others to know, one that is hidden away from legends and tales from long ago, are the autopsies. Now yes, that may sound weird, cats performing autopsies on other dead cats, but believe me when I say it, with the right experince, an autopsy is the best way to find a cause of death. Besides actually seeing the thing that caused that cat to die, that one always takes the cake.

Though I have just listed two ways a dead cat can be examined, be sure to realise that examination of a dead cat is very uncommon, as many believe that it is disrespectful and immoral to do so. But no matter how right they might sound, no matter how much you believe them, you cannot ignore cold hard facts. Allow me to explain.

There have been many cats who, over the course of the clans, have been studying their whole lives about how to correctly preform, and get correct results from the autopsies. One such cat was Sagekindle from Desertclan. He started his studies during his apprenticeship with his mentor, who I shall not name on the fact that it is confidential.

He asked for a corpse, if there was any after a battle or one was discovered, to examine to find out what happened to that corpse, or living thing, to make it die. As his examinations lengthened and became more frequent and more efficient, the more enemies and rivals he had gained. 3 of the five clans of the Great Circle had tried to get him to stop, but failed.

The process of an autopsy is quite simple, a kit could do it, with a lot of therapy afterwards. First, the corpse must be spread out, limbs as far as possible and head tilted back. This is so nothing would get in the way of the cutting. Second, a small cut would be placed near the top of the belly, slowly going down as the innards start to reveal.

It is at this point that most cats would walk away, absolutely disgusted at the process, but for those brave souls who continue, the third step is to open it up. Open the corpse up and begin the examination. With sickness, the problem is usually found very easily, and with other circumstances, exterior examination is the right way to go.

However, with am those reasons to not do the examination, there are still many reasons. My knowledge of this point on is strictly hidden by the Great Circle, so I cannot tell you more. Maybe sometime later, I can tell you more, but until then. Keep on keeping on.


	8. Chapter 5

" _Like I said, he will never be able to learn anything. He cowers at the smallest thing, it's sickening to see him!" Thistle growled at Sweet, who reluctantly nodded_ in approval. "The day he finally toughens up, I'll let him take over my post as leader." Thistle chuckled, walking away, leaving Sweet behind.

 _Shell had heard all this, and his tail drooped even lower to the ground. His fears were confirmed, he_ _ **was**_ _useless, and there was nothing he could do about it. He got scared at the smallest little thing. He didn't know why Thistle kept him as deputy, Apple would have made a much better choice, but no. He was the second in command, and there had to be a reason._

 _Maybe Thistle really believed that he had potential as a leader? Or maybe, under all of those very crude and hurtful insults and retorts, Thistle loved Shell. Not in a romantic way of course, but as a good friend. Someone he could rely on, his most valuable asset. Though, Shell didn't hold his breath, most of him knew that he was hated by Thistle, he was dead weight, and he knew that the group didn't keep dead weight around._

 _Despite all that though, Shell had a determination to become better, to try and make himself more useful than before. He wanted Thistle to see him as a cat that could be useful, not someone who just ran away from things, and he would do anything to get it._

Shell was shaken awake by Thistle, who was rubbing his torso with his paw roughly, trying to wake Shell up. He raised his head slowly and gazed at Thistle, realizing that Apples body was gone, leaving him there with just a dried pool of blood. He looked at Thistle, his eyes half closed, still asleep. "C'mon sleepyhead, while you were off sleeping, we found two cats approaching our little camp and we took them in." Thistle said, leaving the cave and Shell as he got up. Albeit he was extremely slow in getting up.

He walked out the cave, the moonlight blinding his eyes as he walked out into the field that surrounded their cave. Dew wet his paws as he picked up the scent of two new cats in the area, toms most likely. He finally completely opened his eyes and saw the two new cats Thistle was talking about.

He cautiously walked up to them, nervous about these cats as one of them began to speak. "So this is the other one? Why is he all covered in blood?" The small one asked, the bigger one just glaring at Shell. Shell got the strange feeling as he heard a kit crying from within the forest he and Branch had visited.

He guessed that it was the kit that Apple had kitted too early, resulting in her death, and why Shells pelt was coated a dark and light red, coated with blood. "Well, that's kinda personal… I don't want to talk about it." Shell mumbled, realizing that Branch wasn't at the camp.

"That's fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then there's no need to talk about it." The small one replied, Thistle glanced at Shell with wary eyes.

Shell picked up the glance and looked back at the two newcomers, "So what are your names?" He asked, staring at the bigger, more muscular cat. He shivered in fear at the thought of what that larger cat could do.

"I'm Mouse, the big oaf here is Jaw." Mouse introduced, Jaw turning his head to stare at his brother, lightly clawing his ear with a small exposed claw. Mouse chucked a bit before looking at Shell. "So, what's the story of the blood on your pelt?" Mouse asked, Shell sighing.

"I may have lay down next to a dead friend, in a pool of blood. I can't tell you more, too many memories." Shell answered solemnly, closing his eyes as he turned around dramatically.

"Oh, well then." Mouse said, Shell taking the opportunity to dash off to the forest, leaving the two newcomers with Thistle and Misty, despite their best efforts to get him back to the camp. All he wanted to be with right now was Branch, and a good wash in a river.

 _"For the last time, get the moss from the cave." Thistle ordered Branch, who, with a defiant glare, yelled back at him with a loud, yet wavering, "No!" Fatal mistake. Thistle snarled at Branch and slashed his neck with sheathed claws, "When I say do something, that doesn't mean you say no, it means do it!" Thistle yowled, Branch flinching and running off._

 _Sweet flinched at the yowls and turned to her visitor Shell, "Looks like he's in a bad mood today…" She mumbled, Shell nodding slightly in approval._

 _"He's been in a bad mood since a couple of days ago, I think that's when we lost that small bit of territory to those vixens." Shell muttered, noticing that Sweet looked a lot thinner. An unhealthy thin._

 _"I guess he's just upset about that."_

 _"'Just upset?' He just yelled at Branch for something so little as not getting moss."_

 _"Everyone gets ticked off._

 _"Not this bad!"_

 _"Well everyone reacts differently is what I meant." Sweet defended, coughing a little bit afterwards._

 _"Don't tell me your sick again…" Shell muttered, standing up and stretching just a little bit._

 _"I might go see Branch anyways, I guess I'll talk to you later Shell." Sweet replied, standing up and walking out of her den, Shell looking after her with a worried glance._

Shell walked out the river, shaking himself dry the best he could, splashing a passing Branch, making him spit a bit. "Sorry Branch, didn't really see you there!" Shell chuckled, walking up to him and sat down.

"Yeah yeah, you big oaf." Branch joked, pressing himself on Shell, making Shell smile just a little bit. "That little kit won't last long without milk, which we have none of. I'm quite surprised that it survived birth…" Branch admitted, sighing as Shell gazed back at their camp.

"To be completely honest, I'm not even sure it can survive today." Branch droned, Shell shutting his eyes, trying not to think of it.

"Maybe it'll survive?" Shell said, trying to remain hopeful, despite how little he believed himself.

"She'll survive, you mean that?" Branch corrected.

"Yeah, that's what I meant."

"Could you two lovebirds come over here and help me with something?" Misty suddenly called from the forest behind them, startling Shell and making Branch jump a little bit. "I need someone to watch over the kit while I look for something to feed 'im with. Turns out, kits _can't_ eat herbs and stomach them. Especially if they're too young to even be born. By at least a moon or so." She continued, Branch sighing and Shell glancing at the small kit.

It looked small, smaller than Splash did when Shell first saw him, suckling on Apple as she slept peacefully. It brought back happy memories, and he smiled a little bit, looking at the kit that was in front of him. Its fur was still faded, so Shell couldn't tell what it looked like. "Have you thought of a name yet?" He asked, walking up to the kit and slightly touching it with his nose, its mewl melting Shells heart.

"Not yet, have to know if it'll survive this next season to see if we can name it. Don't want to get too attached to it and have it die on us." Misty answered, Branch turning to face Shell, looking at him 'play' with the kit.

"Ah, ok then…" Shell sighed disappointedly, lightly picking the small kit up and repositioning it to make it slightly more comfortable. "I would have named her Dew…" He mumbled, Branch twitching his ears, only hearing the name.

"You'd name who Dew?" Branch asked, Misty just barely out of earshot.

"The kit, I'd name her Dew if I wanted to." Shell replied, lightly rubbing the kits head with his tail. "It would make a good name, don't you think?" He asked.

Branch had a little, "Oh." slipped out his mouth, looking towards the camp, watching the four cats who remained in the cave.

 ** _AN: THE SHORTNESS OF THE CHAPTER! I've been busy with school n stuff, as well as procrastinating, which, if you didn't know, is an Olympic sport. And I am the all-time champion at it._**


	9. Chapter 6

Misty seemed to be gone the whole morning, which worried Shell slightly. Why didn't she return by sunhigh like she said she would? Unless he heard her wrong, that could be it. He looked at Dew (He decided to call her Dew. Much to the disagreement of Branch and Misty) and smiled a little bit, picking her up by the scruff and placing her gently on his back. In response, the kit clung onto Shell, who took it as a sign to being walking. Branch was away, looking for edible things to give to Dew, so Shell was ok with leaving him behind. Besides, what could happen? Him getting captured by another group of rogues? Shell shuddered at the thought of it, and went onwards to the camp to talk to Thistle.

As Shell made his way towards the camp, he heard something running out of the woods, he turned around quickly as he saw Misty running out of the bushes, followed by two other cats. He was already at the camp when he saw the three cats run out, and by the looks of it, so did Thistle. He got up with a jolt, followed by Mouse and Jaw. Shell ran towards the cave and put Dew down there, and ran his fastest to his group members. (He also decided to call Mouse and Jaw group members, because if they didn't kill Thistle already, they could possibly never do it.) Misty ran into Thistle, and Shell could see scratches and battle marks all over her, and looked at the two cats chasing her.

 _She must have been attacked…_ Shell observed, _But if she's here, where's Branch?!_ He suddenly thought, staring at the two cats who were chasing after her stop in front of them, teeth and claws bared. "Ok then, hand her over!" One of the cats demanded, stepping forward two pawsteps before Thistle and Mouse walked up to them.

The cats looked quite vicious, and Shell worried for the health of Thistle and Jaw. He walked up alongside them and held his ground, telling himself that if he moved, he could never get another chance like this again. Thistle looked at him with a, 'what are you doing?!' glare and Shell disregarded it. Thistle finally stopped looking at Shell and turned to the two attackers. "First of all, that was quite rude. Barging onto our territory and demanding that we hand over one of us. Why don't you introduce yourselves and maybe we can handle this without anyone getting hurt. Hmm?" Thistle told the intruders, who snarled in response.

"Listen here you old waste of space, hand over the she-cat and we'll probably leave you alive. We'll even throw in a bonus and keep the tom we captured alive." The second tom menacingly growled, scaring Shell, yet riling him up at the same time. _They said they captured a tom… What if it's…_ His head was going a mile a minute, thinking out possible meanings to their words and threats. (Besides, it _was_ his job to fear the worst. He wouldn't be Shell without him worrying about every single thing. It was the one thing that defined him.)

"That's even more rude! Maybe if you could tell us what you want with her, maybe we can listen to your demands. If the reasons are not good enough, go away." Jaw retorted, which Shell chuckled at, for some reason.

"Fine then! We'll tell you, then we'll just kill you later." The first one threatened, Shell stepped back a bit, but not too far. He wanted to join in on a fight, if there even was one. "We caught her trying to collect some herbs that _we_ claimed. She said she was alone, but then we found a tom trying to run away, so we caught him. However, due to our being distracted, she ran away. She belongs to us now, so hand her over!"

Thistle looked at them in reply, turning to Shell he nodded slightly, Shell understanding what he was tasked to do. Distract, distract as much as possible. "So, this tom, what did he look like?" Shell started, seeing how Jaw and Thistle were starting to move ever so slightly to the left and right respectively.

"Why do you gotta know? You his family member or something?" The second cat snarled, making Shell flinch a little bit and made him unsheath his claws, a bit on the dull side however, Shell never did really engage in a real fight, mostly just training and play fights.

"I… guess you could say I'm a family member. A really close family member, close enough to gouge your eyes out if you hurt him in any way." Shell responded quite bravely, stepping back up to his place in front of the attackers, Thistle and Jaw now positioned behind them. "Though… I won't have t-" he started, then interrupted by a large yowl from behind the trees, catching everyone off-guard.

"HALT!" The voice yowled, making everyone freeze in their place, even the attackers were taken aback by the deafening voice. How could something that looked so little make so much noise? Shell shook his head while running to the cave to find Dew, luckily finding her and picking her up.

Thistle and Jaw took a step back, Shell seeing Mouse in the deepest part of the cave, shaking as the source of the voice came closer, looking to be a leader of sorts. Deep down, Shell knew, that whoever she was, was not going to go out without a fight.


	10. Lore Chapter 3 The Clans

AN: I know I know, many weird things are happening to the story. I've read it, and I've picked up on them. Blame Google docs. Anyways, since I have lore that exists outside the canon clans, I said to myself, "Why not just make up your own? Totally original! Never done before! Anyways, forgive the extreme shortness of chapter 5 and 6! I wasn't that determined to finish that one, and it came out terrible. To make up for it, have a little lore chapter about the Great Circle clans. There are 5 in total, and I'll try and put some references to other books in here. Super original. Hopefully you guys enjoy it!

The Great Circle is located around a great hollow, which is, unsurprisingly in the shape of a circle. The environments in the hollow however, are strangely very different. Five clans inhabit this area, Desertclan, who inhabits the drier parts of the Great Circle. These parts are almost devoid of water, but unlike their name suggests, they do not live in a desert. Their territory is just devoid of plants and almost no water. There's also the occasional small cactus, but nothing too much. The heat of the sand makes it almost impossible for most cats to run through unless they have some sort of resistance to heat. The cats belonging to Desertclan have adapted to survive in their harsh environment.

The second clan that resides within the Great Circle is Swampclan. As their name suggests, they live in a marshy area that is one of the hardest parts of territory to defend. This is because if they were attacked, their paws would get constantly stuck in the mud, therefore crippling them, and losing bits of their territory. This is a double edged sword however, since the same apply to any invading cats. Local stories suggest that sometimes, cats were injured just trying to run through the muddy ground, which is one of the reasons why Swampclan is still a clan in the Great Circle.

The third clan that resides in the Great Circle is Lakeclan, the water enthusiasts. As their name suggests, their territory is based around a lake, a fairly small one at that, and covers the territory surrounding it. Their territory meets with Desertclan and Swampclan, surprisingly. The area surrounding the lake they call their home is grassy, and gets less grassy the more it leans into Desertclan territory, and more swampier the more it leans to the Swampclan territory. Lakeclan allows various Desertclan cats to pass through to gain water, though they monitor it from time to time. Swampclan is a known rival of Lakeclan, as they constantly wanted their fresh water.

The fourth clan that lives in the Great Circle is Pineclan. They live in the forest, obviously filled with pines. They're the oldest clan there, and they live up to their title as, 'The Most Aggressive Clan.' They defend their territory with a fierceness that no one expects, but everyone prepares for. Their territory can almost be compared with the territory of Shadowclan of the Lake Territories, which lay a few weeks walk away from the Great Circle. No one went there anyways, so it's not worthwhile talking about the path it would take to get there. Pineclan is a prime example of how aggressive the clans should be, and they made sure that Lakeclan knew it. Pineclan didn't support how Lakeclan could just let Desertclan cats waltz in for free water, but they didn't resort to battle. They only fought when it was time to, and for them, it's almost all the time.

The fifth and most recent clan to join the Great Circle was Flowerclan. They were small and defenceless. But they don't get attacked often, due to them being new. As time passes, the aggression of the other clans will increase, though they are somewhat safe for now. Their territory is a meadow, filled with various flowers and greenery, their prey mainly consists of birds, birds, rabbit, bird. All in order. They have no current leader or deputy, but they still remain a lawful clan, capable of peaceful and calm talk that the other four clans cannot achieve, even with a leader by their side. Their lack of leader and deputy is due to the fact that they cannot run properly with someone that they believe is a dictator.

AN: Flowerclan will be the main clan of the series, meaning that if I do make our little rouge group head into a clan, it will most likely be Flowerclan.


	11. Chapter 7

"Halt!" The voice echoed, a smaller cat bounding out of the trees, looking out at the she-cat

who was right next to him. "How'd I do?" He asked her, making the she-cat chuckle slightly.

"Let me do the talking, no one will take you seriously if you keep on acting this nice Smallfire." The she-cat said, Shell looking at them both with a confusion.

Which one of them is the leader? Is it the bigger one? Or is it the smaller, less mature one? Shell thought, sighing softly to himself as he watched the two cats walk forward to the scuffle that was about to occur, Smallfire ready to speak.

"Why are you guys fighting? I said we talk to them peacefully, and figure this out peacefully." He said to the two attacking cats, who were looking at him with a toxic, sharp glance, as if they were ready to slit his throat instantly.

"Listen here Smallfire, just because your leader, doesn't mean we hafta listen to you, in fact, why don't we-" The first one snarled before a claw swiftly slashed across his neck, Smallfire licking his paw clear of the blood.

"What did I say about talking back, look what happened." Smallfire retorted at the now squirming cat, who was slowly losing grip on life. Fast.

That was the moment Shell realized how scared he was of dying, especially by this little scary monster. If Smallfire can do that… What can the other one do? He thought to himself, nearly scaring himself to death as Smallfire turned to look at him with a smile on his face, as if nothing ever happened.

"Now! Hi there, nice to meet you, I'm Smallfire, also called Smallfire, and my bodyguard here is Wolfnose!" Smallfire squeaked, flicking his tail towards Wolfnose, an annoyed expression on her face.

"I told you already Smallfire, this isn't going to-"

"Hush. Let me talk." Smallfire interrupted, placing his tail firmly onto her mouth, a signal for her to shut up, a smile on his face and and his eyes looking innocent. "Now, what was I going to say again? Ah yes, I'm Smallfire, and I'm the leader of my falling apart group of strange oddities." He said again.

Thistle stared at Smallfire, obviously confused. How could he act so calm when he just murdered someone for disrespecting him? Even Shell couldn't process it, though, this wasn't the first time. "So… your the leader of those… rude cats?" Thistle inquired, Smallfire shuffling quite a bit.

"Yyyeah… Some of them are actually cool, except Wolfnose. She has this annoying painful to look at red paint splotch on her back. So that's why she's a meanie, she doesn't like that red spot, she doesn't like anyone looking at it." Smallfire chuckled, Wolfnose glaring at him.

"Must you do this torture right in front of me Smallfire?" Wolfnose groaned, Smallfire obviously enjoying her uncomfort.

Are they mates? Or just really good friends? Shell wondered, shaking his head clear of the thoughts, he had other things to talk about with this mysterious stranger. "Enough with these introductions, what about the tom they said they captured? Whatever happened to him? Did you kill him?" He said angrily.

Smallfire gasped in fake shock, "That's not how you ask a question! You have to say please." He laughed, making Shell even more confused than before. "But I'll answer your question anyways, we have him safe and sound with our med cat. He had rammed himself against a tree, and we found him there, knocked out. We helped him. He talked alot about a 'Shell,' and that's who we're looking for." Smallfire explained.

Shell sighed heavily in relief, Branch was safe and sound at this complete strangers camp, in the medicine den, where they could be feeding him dangerous and whatnot. Wait, no. I can do this, do not panic, I repeat. Do. Not. Panic. Shell thought to himself, thankfully, Thistle stepped up to Smallfire, talking to him.

"So… What exactly are you doing to Branch? And why is he even there?" Thistle inquired, Wolfnose preparing to answer this time.

"We aren't doing anything, we put put poppy seeds into his food so he could sleep. The more he sleeps, the quicker his wounds heal we found, plus, he is a medicine cat too." Wolfnose said in one whole breath. "As for why he's even there in the first place, well… We don't exactly know, but I think he was trying to look for herbs or something."

"Basically you kidnapped him." Jaw butted in.

"Not really, we found him beaten up and such, so we brought him over to our camp instead of leaving him there to die. Had this nasty cut near his belly, made Smallfire shiver just a little bit and rub his belly slightly." Wolfnose replied to the comment.

"You didn't need to say that-" Smallfire growled, before calming himself down. "Anyways, back to the topic at hand, is anyone here named Shell? We really need to make sure Foxfire and Crystal aren't busy murdering him." He continued, eyes right on Shell.

"U-uh, I'm Shell. Nice to meet you?" Shell stammered, the kit on his back fast asleep, not hearing a single thing that anyone was saying.

"Wonderful!" Smallfire purred, "Now that we have that cleared out, come with us! I bet you'll be happy when you see him, not-so-safe but sound!" He said bravely, making Shell worry even more, 'Not-so-safe and sound.' Wonderful.

"Hold on! I didn't say you could just-"

"No wait, it's fine. I'll be fine. I'll just be sure to always stay on my guard, that's what you tell me to do. Right?" Shell asked, smiling as he walked up too Smallfire. "I'm ready, lets go. If anything happens to me, I will rise from the dead and slit your throat."

"Note taken, guess we can't kill you just yet." Smallfire joked, turning around and walking toward the forest, Wolfnose and the second invading cat followed, leaving the three and the corpse there before Shell followed suit, into the forest once more.


	12. Chapter 8

_Branch flinched in pain as his wounds, that he had got while running away from some rouges that wanted to capture him, was being healed by the rouges healer. He didn't get a good look at her, he couldn't, as he could feel leaves on his eyes, and his paws were numb. He could still feel the pain of his wounds, and a calmer presence around him, making him feel safe and sound, grounded in sleep. He could feel paws massaging him, making him feel relaxed, but yet he still felt scared, the sounds of rustling grass, the trees swaying in the wind, nature. He jolted his head in the general direction of pawsteps, only to have his head put down by a paw. "So what do we do with him?" A toms voice asked, "We can't keep him here forever, we're running out of supplies, and Smallfire might be coming back with the rest of them," He spoke, and Branch could feel eyes staring at him. "I know you want to keep care of him, but remember, he was part of the raid a couple moons back." he growled, Branch stifled a breath as he remembered. He had been a part of a raid on an opposing rouge group and succeeded, at the cost of a life._

" _Listen, Foxfire, he didn't do anything in the raid. He stood back with another cat, watching as the true leaders of that raid destroyed us, he's innocent, and that won't change." A she-cats voice replied, soft and sweet, making Branch shiver quite strongly. He could faintly remember the voice, from way before the raid. He suddenly remembered, the time he first joined he had to join a smaller group of rogues who were collecting resources from two clan cats, though he couldn't tell if this was the same she-cat who this voice belonged to. "Besides, don't you think that it would be too evil to just to throw him out, especially while injured? We should just wait 'till Smallfire and Wolfnose return with the rest of the group he was in." She said. Branch immediately jumped up, well, the best he could. He didn't have any leaves on his mouth, or anything blocking his ability to speak._

 _Immediately the words spilled out his mouth quicker than he could realize. "I know the group your talking about!" He yelled out, feeling someone get dangerously close to him, feeling a tail on his nose as he speaked. "I.. I want to know if they're ok! If they are fine and safe and if my mate is coming!" He continued, feeling a paw on his chest, pushing him down to sit. "I just want to know they're ok, and if they're coming to get me." He said, feeling the dangerous sounding tom get close to him and moving around him. "Please, just tell me they're coming." He whimpered, feeling the eye wraps get lifted off his eyes and felt the sun breathe its light on his eyes. Then he saw the she-cat, then the tom that was called Foxfire, and his eyes widened. These were two of the cats that his old group was collecting resources from, Crystal, and the leader of the clan that was being terrorized, Cherrystar._

"How long is it until we arrive?" Misty said, kneading the dirt underneath her, feeling the grass pull and the wet dirt underneath stain her paws and fur. "If we don't arrive there soon, I think Mouse is going to just run in random directions and run into a badger den." She said, flicking her tail towards the shaking tom, who looked like he was going to burst if he was to stand still any longer- even though they were moving at quite a fast pace. Shell sighed and walked to Mouse, placing a paw on his shoulder and hit him across the face.

Mouse recoiled a little bit before staring at Shell, his mouth gaped open. "What was that for! You hit me really hard!" He yelped, holding a paw to his face, Shell placing his tail on Mouse's mouth.

"Be quiet, Smallfire, Wolfnose, and Thistle are asleep. I also think Dews knocked out, but I don't know, it's hard to tell with this little one. It's like Apple, but lazier and with the reaction time of Morning. I still can't believe we left her with Jaw, he doesn't seem like the type to defend someone like her, especially with her… personality." He said quietly, feeling the tail of Misty swipe him over the muzzle. "And I know it's rude, but I can't help feeling that something is going to happen to them while we're out, if something _does_ happen, I don't think Jaw and Morning can face it alone."

"Shell, shut up. They know what to do, we've gone over the system a couple of times, and they've got it down to the final part where they dig a hole to try and trap whatever they have to. Or for fun, who knows." Misty reassured, "You need to stop worrying, they'll be fine. Trust me." She said softly, seeing Thistle stir, Wolfnose getting up quickly and walking out of their nest.

She stretched, yawning as she leaned forward to stretch her back. "I think we'll be there by sunhigh, if Smallfire decides to WAKE UP!" She yelled, Smallfire sleepily walking out of the den, Thistle right behind them. "Now that he's awake, we can finally be on our way." She said annoyed, starting to walk again. Mouse and Misty followed close behind, Smallfire came after, but Shell lingered and waited for Thistle, who got out with his eyes wide open.

"Once we get there, we take Branch, kill them, and run. Got it?" Thistle growled, Shell staring at him with wide eyes.

"Thistle, we can't! We can have powerful allies, and they obviously don't remember us, well some of them, and we can have them become powerful allies for us!" He reasoned, hoping that Thistle would finally listen to him for once.

"No, we can't take the risk." He said firmly, much to Shells dismay, "We kill them, Ill take out Wolfnose, you take out everyone else. Understood?" He ordered, walking off after them without waiting for an answer. Shell gulped and walked behind him, praying to whatever could hear him and prayed that Thistle would change his mind.

Shell ran up to Mouse and Misty, who were engaged in a conversation with Smallfire, Mouse asking questions and Misty trying to act like she didn't know Mouse. "And then I said 'Put that mouse down, it belongs to us!' And the other cat was like, 'Never! It's mine, I caught it fair and square!' and then I slashed his throat." Smallfire said, laughing a little before noticing Shell. He excused himself from the group, his stare lingering a bit on Misty as he slow down to be next to Shell.

"Hey Smallfire, what exactly is your camp like?" Shell asked, wanting to feel a bit better about the plan that Thistle had.

"Glad you asked! Well since most of us are used to the Clan-like style of their camps, we designed one just like it. Your camp was just a rock for a lil right? Well we have an actual medicine den, for our healer, Crystal! She was one of the cats who became a rogue with me." He said, a smile spreading across his face.

"It sounds quite luxurious, wonder if we can stay with it." Shell replied, "So are you sure Branch will be ok? I don't want to know he died of his wounds."

Smallfire giggled, "Why? You two best friends? Never heard of a tom who cared so much for another tom, even in my clan that wasn't much of a thing" He said, seeing the look in Smallfires eyes and piecing the puzzle pieces together. "So, your mates?"

Shell quickly backed away, surprise lighting his eyes. "WAIT WAIT WAIT!" He exclaimed, shaking his head violently, his pelt burning with embarrassment, "THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! WHY WOULD YOU BRING THAT UP!" He screamed, still in shock at what the orange tabby said.

"See? This is how I knew, just in your language." Smallfire said, enjoying the tortured face that Shell had, as he sighed, slowing his pace.

"I guess? The most we did was tell each other that we loved each other, but I think he was just joking. I hope he wasn't, but… Nevermind. It's nothing." He said, Smallfire now lowering his tone. He seemed quite fatherly when he talked to Shell once more.

"Listen, it's fine if you like him more than friends, as long as both of you can enjoy each other's presence. If you think yall can go the extra mile, then go ahead. Just as long as you two know that what your doing is ok with both of you." He said, bringing a sort of light to Shells eyes. "And trust me, if he was joking, why would he even say that?" He said, bringing up a point that Shell forgot about.

"That's… true.." Shell said, nodding his head slightly, wondering how Smallfire could know so much about a topic such as this. "But, how do I know for sure?" He asked, looking at Smallfire.

"Well, you could simply ask him, try not to rush things though, he could feel pressured." He said, ducking under a vine that was hanging off a tree. Unluckily, Shell couldn't see it, so his neck was caught for a short but scary second.

With a cough he was back to his paws, shaking his head, hoping to get the pain in his throat out the way. Then a branch nearly smacked him on the face. "Oh! Right, forgot about this. We've arrived." He said, opening moss that was hung over the entrance to the camp, revealing the large interior, and three cats inside.


	13. Chapter 9

**_AN: The story is starting to go into overdrive, with chapters coming out every couple weeks, or maybe even once a week. Thank you all who have read it, and those who have followed it through all its chapters. The Hive Mind is in the works, and I'm planning a large plot twist for it, so be on the lookout._**

 _Jaw sighed, watching the sleeping cat, and kitten that lay in front of him. He was tasked to protect them, and he felt as if it was a waste of time. And besides, he could take out two of the group right now, but he couldn't. Not the kit, and definitely not the she-cat. He was tasked to protect them, and that's what he was going to do. Besides, he had his own moral code which prevented him from doing such acts of killing. But the toms, they were free game. And once this kit was matured, he was out of the picture too. He chuckled softly to himself as a branch snapped. Quickly turning his head he saw the shape of a cat, looking a bit like Thistle._

' _Oh, it's you,' he said, walking closer to the shape, 'I thought you left with Misty and Shell to that rouges camp.' he said, a bit nervous about Thistles silence. 'Uh, you there?' He asked, unsheathing his claws, ready to take out one of the cats on his hit list. He raised a paw, and ran towards him, only to find the fur getting too red and black, with other pelts of the same color behind it. His eyes widened, as he began to run back to camp, only to be tackled by one of the foxes, and surrounded by them._

 _Splashs eyes shot open when he heard the yowls, loud and clear, and apparently, Morning didn't hear them. He slowly walked outside, hoping that it was someone was just pranking him, then he saw the foxes, and an outstretched paw that looked eerily familiar, then he realized, Jaw wasn't here. He put two and two together and he figured it out, they were in big trouble. He quickly ran back to Morning and shook her awake, 'Hnng? What is it Splash?' She asked sleepily, making Splash all the more scared._

' _Morning, just get up and let's go. Now!' He told her, Morning still not budging. The cave above them dropping small rocks. Splash squeaked and hid behind Morning, who slowly rose herself up. "Please, let's just get up and leave.' He pleaded, Morning letting out a small mrrow of laughter._

' _What are you so scared about, there's nothing bad going to happen-' She said, a rumbling behind them as rocks fell down quickly, trapping them from the outside, or going deeper inside, giving them little space._

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Shell gasped at the three cats who awaited them, one of them being Branch, who as Smallfire promised, was completely fine and even taken care of. He was going to run up to Branch, but Branch wanted to run to him, both crashing into each other. After they both recovered, they intensely nuzzled each other, finally happy to see each other safe. Obviously they were ignorant of the eyes staring at them, Thistle smiling, Smallfire and Wolfnose talking to the other two cats, and one of the other cats were looking at them weirdly. Misty was looking after Dew, running around for something for her to eat.

"So, what did I tell ya? They'd take care of him." Smallfire said, after finishing his conversation with the two unknown cats, "And I also took the time to tell my two sub coordinates back there about your situation, and they said they'll be happy to help. He said happily, Shell nodding in acknowledgement. He was quite shocked to see that Branch was unharmed, but even more so when he found that his wounds had been taken care of! He stayed by Branches side, curled up around him, happy to see him safe and unharmed.

"Yeah, you did. But what's the catch?" Thistle said, slowly unsheathing his claws, garnering the attention of Wolfnose, who kept a close eye on him, ready to pounce if he made any moves. "I know there'll be a catch, just tell us what it is, and we can easily comply." He said, walking a bit closer to Smallfire.

"A catch? Ah, well I don't have one. If you really want one, then I say we should merge our groups together, y'know?" He proposed, catching Wolfnoses glance and backing slowly away from Thistle.

"Merge our groups? Why? So we have to care for more mouths?" He growled, walking ever more closer to Smallfire.

"Now listen, we don't have to go by strict rules, all of us are capable of hunting. Think about it, the more cats you have, the more prey can be caught." He said, feeling the boundaries of their camp behind him.

"No. Shell, strike." He said, outstretching a paw to strike Smallfire, to only get knocked out the way by Shell himself, who did strike something, just not the thing Thistle wanted. Thistle himself. Shell could feel his claws lodged in Thistles shoulders as both tumbled to the ground, a ball of spitting fur and claws.

Shell quickly jumped off Thistle, being replaced by one of the cats Smallfire was talking to,, a claw pressed against his throat. "I'm sorry.." He softly said, Thistle glaring at him with a sheer hatred, and fear? No, it couldn't be fear.

"Well, that was unexpected. Haul 'im to that cave over there." Smallfire simply said, Wolfnose helping him carry Thistle over to a den that was isolated from the rest of them, with brambles surrounding it. "Guess that's a yes for you?" He asked Shell, who was still staring after Thistle.

"Uh, y-yeah." Shell said, quickly turning to Smallfire. "Of course, why would I stop him then?" He said, much to his shakiness. "Besides, it looks like we can work quite well together y'know?" He said, sighing heavily as he saw Smallfire smile.

"That's good to hear, Crystal. Take Shell here and bring him to the medicine den, he had a little cut there that might need tending to." He said, flicking his tail at the she-cat and for what looked like a moment, twined tails with her as they walked by. "I'll be in my den, yowl if ya need me," he said simply, heading off towards his den, which seemed fairly normal, not separated from the rest of the dens, and looked even smaller.

Shell shook his head, turning to Crystal, staring at the silver tabby. "So I have to follow you? To the medicine den? Can Branch come?" He asked, Crystal turning to look at him.

"Of course, he still needs to heal, c'mon Branch!" Crystal ordered, Branch quickly getting up. "I don't want you guys to do anything too extreme, hunting, fighting. If you do, I promise I'll be the one to finish you off." she growled, making Shell realize his fear of she-cats.

 _Great Starclan, she's scary.._ He thought, seeing Branch shiver a little bit. _I don't want to be the one she puts down. At least, not yet anyways, probably when I'm like, slit across the throat or somethin._ He said, slowly walking to Crystal. "So what exactly are you going to do for us?" He said softly, slowly walking behind her.

"Y'know , the usual, cobwebs, poppy seeds, deathberries." Crystal replied smoothly, though Shell was quite worried about the last one.

"I'm sorry, what was the last one?" Shell asked.

"Nothing." Replied Crystal.

"What's going to happen with Thistle?" Branch suddenly interjected, wanting to change the subject of what 'horrible things' Crystal would do to them. "Is he going to get killed?" He asked softly, whispering at a level so that no other cat could hear them.

"Don't know, up to Smallfire. But for now, let's focus on your wounds. You still have a lot of healing to do, so rest for Starclans sake." she replied, walking into the medecine den, followed by Branch, then Shell.

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 _Thistle was in the small, tight, extremely cramped cave. Reeds were died around his throat, connected by vine to a large boulder. His paws were also tied by vines, and the claws were forcibly removed from his paws, leaving him a bloody mess. For one, he could be fearful for his life, he underestimated these cats, they were no pushover. He wiggled slightly, hoping to get a little loose from the tied vines, but to no avail. The more he moved, the tighter they got. He whined softly, feeling a small drip of water splash on his head, then another, then another, then another. He spotted a figure walk across the brambles that surrounded the cave, recognizing Wolfnoses large body._

' _So, looks like you're in some deep fox dung, huh.' Wolfnose said nonchalantly, holding up some thorns and pressing it against Thistles back, slowly dragging down, shoving moss in his mouth to prevent him from yowling. 'Y'know, maybe you could have just waited until he was alone until you attacked. Get into his den, then kill him there. Then leave us, so we could come and find you. But no, you had to rush it, you had to foil your plan.' She mused, now drawing blood from the thorn. She then pressed the thorn against him with full force, shoving it deep inside Thistles body, his muffled yowls echoing against the cave walls._

' _I honestly thought you would be able to kill him, with us being so far away, and Smallfire somewhat expecting it. With you that close, I would have expected you get a lethal blow in. But no, you had to yell out orders to one of your cats, who didn't even do it! I don't know wether to applaud him for going against you or scold him for going against his leader's orders.. I guess I'll have to do both when I'm done with you." she said, shoving the rest of the thorns in on a single spot, taking out one and hovering it over his throat._

 _Thistle started to breathe quickly, trying to scoot backwards, away from the thorns, but the pressure on his neck still remained the same, and he couldn't even get far before Wolfnose slammed it into him as hard as possible, missing vital arteries, but making him collapse to the ground. He squirmed around, instinctively trying to move his paws to remove the thorn from his throat, but he only shoved the thorns that was lodged in his side deeper, worsening the situation._

' _Listen, I'd love to stay here and make this go on for longer, but I have stuff to do. So I'll do you a favor and end it here for you.' She said, dragging a somewhat large stope next to Thistle and picking it up the best she could, standing on her hind legs and lifting the stone up with her forelegs, although she was trembling. 'Bye.' She said, dropping the stone on his head, a sickening squelch following after, blood splattering everywhere. His body squirmed for a few seconds after, stopping slowly as large amounts of blood trailed from the body of Thistle, becoming cold quickly._

 _Wolfnose sighed, walking out the cave, shaking her body, getting rid of some of the blood that had landed on her as she squished his head, walking away from the cave, not bothering to remove the body, nor notifying Smallfire about her actions_


	14. Chapter 10

_Small golden rays of sunlight shone through the cracks in the rocks that piled up in front of the cave, waking Splash and Morning. Their fur was dirtied from digging for the night before, only getting a few inches out before collapsing from exhaustion. Splash got up first, placing a paw on Mornings head, wanting her to sleep some more. He walked up to a rock and pulled at it using his forepaws, his hind paws dragging against the ground as he pulled, stopping after he felt it budge a little bit. 'Dang, it's locked in there tight. Maybe if we pull off the top rocks first?' he pondered out loud, stirring Morning awake again._

' _Don't bother, we tried that yesterday, remember?' She groaned, getting up and moving next to Splash, who pressed against her for warmth. 'Isn't this a nice time to be up and awake eh? A single night away from your eighth moon, and we're sitting here, trapped like mice,' she said scornfully pawing at the stone cold ground beneath them. 'We're probably going to die here, cold, alone, nowhere to go,' she growled Splash flicking her in the ear. 'Ow! What was that-'_

' _Don't you say that,' Splash growled angrily, 'We'll make it out of here alive, I will promise you that much. I don't care if we have to spend the whole day chucking down rocks, we will get out of here alive,' he said firmly, his eyes burning Mornings pelt as he spoke, as if he had a sort of power over her, driving her to get out, but there still lay that lingering feeling of hopelessness, that feeling that one got when they knew that the only way out of a situation, was death._

' _Y-yeah,' Morning replied, 'We're making out alive, both you and me, together,' she said, climbing up to the top of the rockslide and chucking down a rock, seeing Splash smile as he jumped up and joined her in the rock chucking, slowly but surely making progress. No matter how fast they were, it would be a long time before one of them reached freedom._

Shell jumped as Crystal pricked him with a small thorn, not enough to make him bleed, but enough to make him feel it. "Hey! What's the big idea!" he exclaimed, slightly rubbing his rump, the part that Crystal had stabbed with the thorn. "I have no idea why Smallfire made you the medicine cat, you do more damage than you do heal!" He complained, Branch stirring in the nest next to him. Crystal simply didn't reply, walking to the herb storage, leaving Branch and Shell alone. "Y'know, I don't think that she's an actual medicine cat, I think she's just a warrior who thinks she's a medicine cat." He said softly, just barely out of hearing range, he thought.

The next thing he knew was a paw in front of his eye, smacking it enough to make him roll backwards, rubbing his eye slowly as it stung a little. "Next time you try and talk about me, make sure I'm nowhere inside the den, this _is_ a closed area, your voice carries further." She said, ducking under the reefs that covered the entrance of the den. "I'll be out gathering herbs, you two behave yourself," She said, softly walking out the den, leaving Shell a cowering mess.

Branch chuckled slightly at Shell, "Oh man, she gets scary sometimes, but I know she's a good medicine cat, just a little bit.. Eccentric, let's say," he said, walking over to Shell and laying next to him, giving him a small lick on the cheek before laying his head on his belly. "Besides, if it weren't for her, I'd be a goner, and you wouldn't want that to happen, right?" he said slyly, giving a snarky glance and Shell, making him feel quite uncomfortable.

"'F course not, but, I just don't understand her." He replied, rubbing the eye that was hit making his vision blurred, "I don't understand how Smallfire puts up with her, does he even like her in general?" He asked, placing a paw on Branchs head, purring softly.

Their cuddle session was interrupted by Foxfire, the second stranger that Smallfire saw as he entered the camp, who stared at both of them before sitting down one of the nests, still staring at them as they still stayed in their original position, trying not to mind the fact that were being stared at. "So, are you two together or somethin?" he inquired, laying down, Shell noticing that his leg was twisted in a way that shouldn't even be possible. "Not that I have anything against it or anything, just wondering."

"Well now that you said that it makes me wonder if your against it, I mean, what's wrong with it?"

Foxfire shrugged, looking at the entrance of the medecine den, just in time for Crystal to return with a leaf filled with berries, some crushed. She took one glance at Foxfire and sighed, dropping the leaves next to her little herb store and facing him completely, completely disregarding Branch and Shell.

"What did you do to your leg this time?!" she yowled at him, though he didn't flinch a single inch.

"I got in a fight with Wolfnose."

"You're a major idiot, next time I hope she does this to your neck," Crystal said, though they both sounded quite serious, they had a smile plastered on their faces. "On three, I'll push this leg back to its original place, after this, you're staying in the dens for a week," she mewed, Foxfire making himself more comfortable and closing his eyes tightly.

"Wait, what are you-" Shell started, being cut off by Crystal pushing Foxfires leg back in with a _snap!_ Shell almost screamed when he saw the leg snap back into place, and apparently, so did Foxfire, who let out a tiny squeal of shock and pain as Crystal didn't even give him a moment to prepare, just a solid push and the bone was shoved back to its original position. _She really isn't a medicine cat.._ Shell thought, staring at the squirming Foxfire and Crystal, who went back to her storage to grab some leaves and sticks.

Foxfire gasped, speaking the same sentence that Shell was thinking, "What was that?! You didn't even give me time to prepare myself!" He reached out a paw, trying to hit Crystal but missed, instead falling in front of her, the perfect spot for her to simply step on him, which she did, wrapping the leaves around his leg, the sticks inside the leaves, acting like a makeshift cast.

"I suspected that you'd be prepared already, you did get in a fight with Wolfnose, you'd be crying if she did something more than this," Crystal said, poking him in the belly, "But in all honesty, you should be more careful, next time you could really get hurt."

Shell sighed, _She definitely isn't a medicine cat, she's too vicious to even be one.._ Shell said, looking quite worried as Branch lifted himself off, walking towards Foxfire, lowering himself to take a look at his wrapped leg. Shell sighed and made his way outside, no need to stay inside in the cramped den, plus, he wanted to explore, and even visit Thistle, though he wouldn't probably like his visit.

As he walked out the medecine den he heard Crystal shout, "Don't do anything so dangerous, remember, your life is in my paws!" He sighed before running into Misty, without Dew, which made Shell quite worried, as she barely ever was apart with the tiny kit.

"Where's Dew?" he asked, garnering Misty's attention, "Did you leave him somewhere, did you accidentally fo-"

"Shell, hush. He's with Smallfire, we should ask Smallfire if we can head back, I'm not sure if Splash and Morning can take being with Jaw any longer."


End file.
